Stephen F. Austin
Houston
NOTES: 'Jacks to Test Mettle against Big 12's Houston in '25 opener
8/26/2025 8:28:00 AM | Football
Lone Star State programs meet for first time since '48
4th meeting, SFA leads 2-1
Houston, Texas (TDECU Stadium)
FULL GAME NOTES ARE HERE
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - A long offseason has been endured and the dawning of a new season is here. The wait is over. The 'Jacks are back! A season-opening Week 1 matchup with the Big 12's Houston awaits Stephen F. Austin on Thursday night inside TDECU Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and live coverage links are available at www.SFAjacks.com.
WATCH: ESPN+ (PxP: Pete Sousa; Color: Taylor McHargue)
LISTEN: Q107.7 FM (PxP: Chase Merrell; Color TBD)
LIVE STATS: SFAjacks.com
YEAR 99: Come Thursday night inside TDECU Stadium, the penning of the 99th chapter in the storied history of Lumberjack Football will begin as Stephen F. Austin kicks off the program's 39th season as an NCAA Division I member and its 36th in the Southland Conference.
CARTHEL'S COMMAND: Head Coach Colby Carthel begins his seventh season directing the gridiron operation in the Piney Woods and his 13th as a collegiate head coach after spending his first six seasons at SLC member East Texas A&M, then Texas A&M-Commerce, who he led to the 2017 NCAA DII National Championship. Carthel enters the '25 season nine wins shy of 100 for his career and with 33 wins over his first six seasons in Nacogdoches. He is the program's seventh head coach to reach the 30-win mark. Only three other coaches in program history have won 40 or more games.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS: Internal expectations for the 2025 season register as high as expectations ever have under Carthel, but external expectations were projected publically as the Lumberjacks landed at No. 2 in the ten-team SLC preseason ranking. SFA received three first-place votes and totaled 137 points to sandwich in-between preseason favorite Incarnate Word and third-place Southeastern Louisiana.
NATIONAL NOTORIETY: SFA enters the '25 slate ranked inside the top 25 in the trio of premier FCS preseason polls. The Lumberjacks start the season ranked No. 23 in the Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25, No. 24 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Preseason Poll and No. 21 in the Hero Sports FCS Preseason Media Poll.
ALAMO CITY AUDIO: Joined at the SLC's Opening Drive media day in San Antonio by senior quarterback Sam Vidlak and graduate defensive lineman Ky Thomas, Carthel expressed how glad he was to have the aforementioned duo back in Nac for one more ride. "They're fantastic. I'm fired up and honored to be their coach. They make my life a whole lot better, and these two committed to finishing their careers as Lumberjacks, so I've slept a whole lot better this offseason with these guys coming back." More on the collegiate football journeys of Thomas and Vidlak here.
"EARNED, NOT GIVEN": Fifteen Lumberjacks were honored as single-digit jersey number receipients as voted on by their teammates. "A great honor that is bestowed on the select few... These men will lead our program, both on and off the field, to new heights this fall!" - Colby Carthel. #0 Ky Thomas (DL), #1 Charles Demmings (CB), #2 Aaron Austin (OLB), #3 Edward Bobino III (DL) and #6 Jaydon Southard (LB) represent the Lumberjack defense, while #4 Kylon Harris (WR), #5 Jordan Nabors (WR), #7 Blaine Green (WR), #8 Anthony Williams Jr. (RB), #9 Bugs Mortimer (WR/RET), #10 Jerrell Wimbley (RB), #12 Gavin Rutherford (QB), #15 Sam Vidlak (QB), #55 Erik Gray (OL) and #71 Robert Keller (OL) represent the 'Jacks' offense.
NASCAR, SCRABBLE & THE POLAROID CAMERA: The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) was founded, the popular board game Scrabble was invented and the Polaroid camera was sold for the first time. Milk was 34 cents a gallon, a daily newspaper cost a nickle as did a bottle of Coca-Cola, and the average cost of a new car was $1,250. The year was 1948. It was also the last time Houston and SFA met on the gridiron as that matchup served as a bookend for action between the Texas schools that began in 1946. Houston won that first meeting, but SFA won the next two before the series was paused for what has now lasted more than 75 years.
POWER 4 PULSES: The 'Jacks take a season-opening swing at a Power 4 foe for the first time since Carthel's first season in 2019 when SFA opened up against Baylor in Waco. Thursday night's tilt with the Cougars will be the fourth against a current Power 4 opponent under Carthel who also led the 'Jacks against SMU (2020) and Texas Tech (2021). A win over its Big 12 opposition would give the program its first against an FBS foe since knocking off Louisiana-Monroe (then NCAA Division I-A) 23-21 in the 2003 season opener. Carthel's 'Jacks have played "up a weight class" nine times coming into the 2025 campaign.
'JACKS IN LID LIFTERS: All-time in season-opening contests, SFA is 49-44-5 in their previous 98 season openers. Under Carthel, the Jacks are 2-4. The Lumberjacks eye the program's first road win in a season opener since 2003 when it last defeated an FBS program.
'JACKS THAT ARE BACK: Thomas and Vidlak aren't the only key 'Jacks back for Carthel in 2025. Four other All-SLC performers from a season ago return. All-American wide receiver Kylon Harris, Vidlak's top target last fall, and second-team all-league honorees Aaron Austin, Edward Bobino III and Charles Demmings, three of the Lumberjacks' most productive returning defenders, are back in Nac. In all, seventy-seven 'Jacks returned at the conclusion of spring ball. Austin, a Phil Steele Freshman All-American third team honoree in 2023, played in all 12 games last season and totaled 50 stops, 9.0 TFL, 2.5 sacks and led SFA in QBH (11). Bobino saw action in a dozen games recording 47 tackles with eight for loss, 1.5 sacks and six PBUs. Harris and Demmings have both been tabbed preseason All-Americans, with Harris earning consideration for the Walter Payton Award and Demmings receiving recognition by both the Senior Bowl and Shrine Bowl, in advance of their final campaigns as Lumberjacks.
NEW FACES IN NAC: Twenty-one players joined the Lumberjacks this season after having previously competed at the NCAA level, with two-thirds of those signees having played at an FBS school. Of the first-year 'Jacks, Baylor transfer Richard Reese, a former Big 12 Freshman of the Year, creates additional depth in a loaded running back room, while wide receiver/return specialist Bugs Mortimer joined the 'Jacks from ULM and is slotted into the depth chart at both aforementioned positions. Middle Tennessee State transfer and Baytown, Texas native Jaylen Robinson sits inside the two deep at right tackle.
Defensively, six transfer 'Jacks are listed in the Week 1 two deep. Rayden Campbell, a secondary transfer from Division II Texas A&M-Kingsville, sits atop the strong safety position, while Saco Alofipo, who spent time at Utah State and Independence CC is the No. 2 man at free safety. A pair of former Division II products occupy the two deep at one cornerback spot with JK Moore (Central Oklahoma) backing up Jalen Mayo (Virginia Union). At a second corner position, Devion Hargrove, in-league transfer from Houston Christian, backs up the highly-touted Charles Demmings. CoLin CC transfer Malachi Williams, a native of Brookhaven, Mississippi, is atop one of the linebacker spots. Of the 27 freshmen signed in the most recent class, one collegiate rookie, Grenada, Mississippi native Sema'J Avery, finds placement at linebacker on the first two-deep of the season.
RETURNING STATS BREAKDOWN BY THE NUMBERS: Offensively, SFA returns 382 of its 384 pass attempts from last season with Vidlak accouting for 257 of those attempts and redshirt sophomore Gavin Rutherford producing 122. Just over 54% of the unit's rushing yards return in '25, while nearly 92% of the 'Jacks' catches last fall are back. The SFA defense returns nearly half of its tackles from a season ago including over half of its 59 tackles for loss and 19.5 sacks of its 30.0 total in 2024.
IF YOU'RE GONNA PLAY IN TEXAS: Then play in Texas. SFA leaves the Lone Star State just once during its 12-game schedule and it isn't until the final week of the regular season; a brief 112-mile trip through the Sabine National Forest to Natchitoches.
IF YOU'RE GONNA PLAY IN TEXAS (PART 2): Then get coached by Texas. Led by head coach Colby Carthel, who's entire coaching career as well as prep and collegiate playing career has taken place in the state of Texas, ten other assistant coaches on staff hail from the Lone Star State.
#EASTTEXASTOUGH: Carthel's Texas roots shine through year-by-year just by taking a quick glance at his roster. His 2025 Lumberjacks are made up of 100 players from the state of Texas, while 13 other states and the countries of Australia and Germany are represented. Five student-athletes call Florida home with California and Louisiana each having four 'Jacks. Three players are from Mississippi, two hail from Oregon and two others represent New York. The 'Jacks roster also has one student-athlete from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia.
HOME SWEET HOMER: The Lumberjacks boast six home games on their schedule for the second-consecutive season and since the 2020 campaign, SFA is 19-6 inside Homer Bryce Stadium. The 'Jacks have eight undefeated home seasons inside HBS, winning no fewer than four games in each of those schedules including four each in 2020 and 2021.
PROOF IS IN THE PLAY CALLING: SFA returns its offensive and defensive coordinators for a second-straight season for the first time since 2021. Good news for the 'Jacks. Not so good news for the rest of the country. Last fall, the Lumberjacks, directed by offensive coordinator Chris Ross, led the SLC in scoring offense (35.6) and redzone offense (.935). Additionally, SFA ranked 11th nationally in passing offense (271.5), boasted the league's top passing efficiency rating (161.87) and employed a top 15 total offense (431.8) in FCS. The 'Jacks return a plethora of playmakers responsible for that production. Defensively, the Lumberjacks, under the leadership of coordinator Mike Mutz, led the SLC in scoring defense (17.8) and in redzone defense (.676) rated fifth in the country in third-down defense (29.2%), picked off the seventh-most passes (17) and averaged 7.7 tackles for loss per game which landed inside the top five in FCS.
SFA TICKETS ON SALE NOW
There's never been a better time to lock in your seat at Homer Bryce Stadium! Season tickets as well as individual game tickets for the upcoming SFA Football season are on sale now, offering the best value for a six-game home slate. Don't miss a single snap as SFA battles through a thrilling Southland Conference schedule. Visit SFATickets.com to secure your tickets today and be part of the action all season long.
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